Review: Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink

Format Read: HardcoverNumber of Pages: 340Release Date: August 1, 2010Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young ReadersFormats Available: HardcoverPurchasing Info: Amazon, Book Depository US, Book Depository UK, Chapters Indigo Canada, Goodreads

Book Blurb:

The ultimate battle between sisters is nearing, and its outcome could have catastrophic consequences. As sixteen year-old Lia Milthorpe searches for a way to end the prophecy, her twin sister Alice hones the skills she’ll need to defeat Lia. Alice will stop at nothing to reclaim her sister’s role in the prophecy, and that’s not the only thing she wants: There’s also Lia’s boyfriend James.

Lia and Alice always knew the Prophecy would turn those closest to them against them. But they didn’t know what betrayal could lead them to do. In the end, only one sister will be left standing.

My thoughts:

This …

New Releases: Sept. 12-19, 2010

Reckless by Cornelia Funke

For years, Jacob Reckless has been secretly disappearing to another world, a world behind a mirror, a world for which his father abandoned his family. The mirror world is Jacob’s escape from reality. It’s a place for treasure hunts and magnificent quests. A world where witches haunt the forests and giants and dwarfs roam. A world locked in a deadly war.

Jacob’s secret seems safe, until one day his younger brother Will follows him, with disastrous consequence. Faced with a curse that is quickly turning Will to stone, the Reckless brothers are thrust into a race against time to find a cure before Will is lost forever.

Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, master storyteller Cornelia Funke introduces a lush, enchanting world where fantasy meets reality. Reckless is a thrilling adventure, a tale of heroism and …

Explore This! Avebury, England (with a pinch of London)

This week, I’m whisking you all off to Avebury, which looks very much like it’s in the heart of farming country in England. It is, in fact, only 32 kilometres away from the more famous stone circle, Stonehenge, though Avebury appears to be older (I got this information from the Wiki entry that I’ve linked below). What I also discovered while looking into Avebury is that there are solstice festivals celebrated there and it seems to still have ties to the old philosophies of witchcraft or pagan religions. For me, this is very cool. I went a little bit geeky researcher on this one because Stonehenge has always been on the top of my “places to visit” list, since reading a Hardy Boys mystery that featured these standing stones. It’s my current read of The Guardian of the Gate by Michelle …

New Releases August 30-September 3, 2010

Sacrifice by Dakota BanksA demon’s enslaved executioner–a ravager of lives and souls–Maliha Crayne has been reborn, willing to sacrifice her immortality for a chance at freedom … and salvation. Now she has an opportunity to prevent the death of thousands to help balance the countless lives she has obliterated over the centuries. To do so, she must locate and destroy an evil cabal of madmen in possession of a weapon of unspeakable power–and survive the immortal assassins who are now after her blood. But it means reverting to the old ways and surrendering once more to the darkness.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Chosen by Jeanne Stein
Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Explore This! Grand Rapids and Holland, Michigan

This week’s tour takes us to Grand Rapids, Michigan, more specifically East Grand Rapids (I couldn’t find much of a distinction pictorially, but I’m sure that those who live there know the difference) and to Holland, Michigan. My inspiration comes from reading a cute YA book called I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan. Here’s a little about the book:

Eighteen-year-old Bronwen Oliver has a secret: She’s really Phoebe, the lost daughter of the loving Lilywhite family. That’s the only way to explain her image-obsessed mother; a kind but distant stepfather; and a brother with a small personality complex. Bronwen knows she must have been switched at birth, and she can’t wait to get away from her “family” for good.

Then she meets Jared Sondervan. He’s sweet, funny, everything she wants — and he has the family Bronwen has always …